Law of Political Parties

Law of Political Parties
Author(s): Carlos Nez Tellez and Rafael Sols Cerda

Source: Contemporary Marxism, No. 8, Nicaragua Under Siege (Spring 1984), pp. 174-182
Published by: Social Justice/Global Options
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29765784
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Law of
Political Parties
The Law of Political Parties was passed by the Council of State on August
17, 1983, after months of debate in the Council of State and throughout the country.
The debate permitted an extensive airing of views by parties of extremely varied
ideological perspectives, and holding widely diverse views on the functioning of political
parties and the nature of the state in a revolutionary society. The law itself is an
essential aspect of Nicaraguan pluralism and democracy. The translation of this document
was provided by the Nicaraguan government, with minor editing for U.S. publication.
The Council of State of the Republic of Nicaragua, Meeting in

Ordinary Session Number 10, on the Seventeenth Day of the Month of
August of the \ear Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Three, Year of Struggle
for Peace and Sovereignty,
Considering:
1) That it is the duty of the Government of National Reconstruction
to strengthen the revolutionary process, guaranteeing the validity and
development of democracy, legitimately based on popular participation and
political pluralism;
2) That the Nicaraguan legal order is developed and strengthened
through the promulgation of new laws which express the will of the
Nicaraguan people to advance toward the institutionalization of the Popular
Sandinista Revolution;
3) That in order to promote national unity and preserve peace in our
homeland, practical actions are required which will lead all democratic and
patriotic political forces to assume together the responsibility for reconstruc?
tion and defense;
4) That the Fundamental Law and the Law of Rights and Guarantees
of Nicaraguans establish the rights of citizens to organize and participate
in political parties or groups;
5) That it is consequently necessary to establish the legal framework
for the Political Parties which exist in the country so that, inspired by the
spirit of national unity and political pluralism, they may contribute to
- Democracy in the New Nicaragua 175
national reconstruction, strengthen the defense of our homeland, and join
in the search for peace in Nicaragua and the world.
Therefore: In the use of its powers,
Decrees the following "Law of Political Parties":
Chapter I: Object of the Law
Art. 1 The present Law regulates the exercise of the right of all citizens
to organize Political Parties or to form part of them and establishes the
regulations that will govern their establishment, authorization, function?
ing, suspension, and cancellation. This Law is of public order.
Chapter II: On Political Parties
Art. 2 Political Parties are groups of Nicaraguan citizens in ideological
agreement, formed with the goal of achieving, among other things, political
power in order to carry out a program that would respond to the needs
of national development. Political Parties are institutions of Public Law.
Art. 3 Only groups legally recognized as Political Parties will enjoy
the rights and guarantees and be bound to fulfill the obligations established
by this and other Laws of the Republic.
Art. 4 Political Parties can be organized freely in the country with
no ideological restrictions whatsoever. The existence of political groups or
parties which seek the return of Somocismo or which advocate the establish?
ment of a similar political system is prohibited.
Chapter III: On the Principles and Goals of Political Parties

Art. 5 Political Parties will be governed by their own principles and
goals, but they must respect the Fundamental Law and the Law of Rights
and Guarantees of Nicaraguans and the basic principles of the Popular San?
dinista Revolution, such as its anti-imperialism and its profoundly popular
and democratic character.
Chapter IV: Rights and Obligations of Political Parties

Art. 6 Political Parties have the right to:
a) Disseminate their ideological principles, their political programs,
their statutes, and declarations of principles.
b) Carry out, at all times, political propaganda and proselytizing
throughout the nation, with all the means at their disposal and,
during the electoral period, contract with communications media
according to their economic possibilities and respecting the right
of free enterprise in accordance with legislation in force and the
By-laws of this Law.
c) Hold private meetings and public rallies.
d) Criticize public administration and propose constructive solutions.
176 NICARAGUA UNDER SIEGE
e) Form alliances with other Political Parties for general goals and
participate with them in specific activities.
f) Name representatives to the National Assembly of Political
Parties.
g) Apply for membership in the Council of State.
h) Take part in elections and present their own candidates for the
posts open for election.
i) Possess their own patrimony.
j) Maintain centers and offices throughout the country,
k) Raise the funds necessary for their functioning in accordance
with the By-laws of the present Law.
Art. 7 Political Parties have the obligation to:
a) Comply with the legal structure of the country.
b) Comply with the resolutions of the National Council of Political
Parties.
c) Promote and support the patriotic unity of the nation in order
to carry out the tasks of reconstruction and development of the
country.
d) Contribute to the consolidation of the political, economic, and
social conquests achieved by our people.
e) Defend the Revolution against any internal or external attempts
to install a regime of oppression and exploitation of the
Nicaraguan people.
f) Fight to preserve the freedom and independence of the country
and to defend the national sovereignty and self-determination
of the Nicaraguan people.
g) Foster and promote human rights in the political, economic, and
social spheres.
h) Take responsibility for their acts within the framework of the
alliances made with other political parties and of the specific
activities that they carry out with them.
Art. 8 The Political Parties that, in accordance with the Fundamen?
tal Law and its Reforms, make up the Council of State, will have the duty
of naming permanent representatives to that Council.
Chapter V: On the National Assembly and

National Council of Political Parties
Art 9 The National Assembly of Political Parties and the National

Council of Political Parties, which will be known by their acronyms ANPP
and CNPP, will be the decentralized bodies of the State entrusted with the
application of the present Law.
Art. 10 The National Assembly of Political Parties will have a con?
sultative character and will be formed by:
- Democracy in the New Nicaragua 177
a) One delegate named by each of the Political Parties.
b) One delegate named by the Government Junta of National
Reconstruction.
The members of the Assembly will have their respective alternates.
The National Assembly of Political Parties will meet in ordinary ses?
sion twice a year and in extraordinary session when convoked by the National
Council of Political Parties or at the request of two thirds of its members.
Art. 11 The functions of the National Assembly of Political Parties
will be to:
a) Analyze the annual report or any other report presented by the
National Council of Political Parties and make recommendations
to the latter.
b) Put forth opinions on matters submitted for its consultation by
the National Council of Political Parties.
c) Elect from among its own members the delegates, and their
respective alternates, of the Political Parties to the National Coun?
cil of Political Parties, ensuring as far as possible the represen?
tation of different ideological tendencies in the aforementioned
Council.
d) Draw up its internal By-laws.
Art. 12 Thirty days after the members of the National Assembly of
Political Parties have been selected, the President of the Supreme Court
will proceed to administer to them the oath of office.
Art. 13 The period of office of the members of the National Assembly
of Political Parties will be from the moment of their nomination to the first
election of officials to take place in the country. The Government Junta
of National Reconstruction and each Political Party will have the right to
remove its delegate from his/her post when it considers it advisable.
Art. 14 Quorum for the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the
National Assembly of Political Parties will exist with the presence of more
than half of its members, and its resolutions will be adopted with the agree?
ment of more than half of the members present.
Art. 15 The National Council of Political Parties will be formed by:
a) Four delegates elected by the National Assembly of Political Par?
ties from among its members.
b) The member named by the Government Junta of National
Reconstruction to the National Assembly of Political Parties, who
will be the Presiding Officer.
c) Three members named by the Council of State.
All delegates to the National Council of Political Parties will have their
respective alternates.
The National Council of Political Parties will meet every two weeks
or when the President so decides. Quorum will exist with the presence of
more than half of its members and its resolutions will be adopted with the
agreement of a majority of those present. In the case of a tie, the President
will have two votes.
Art. 16 The functions of the National Council of Political Parties will
be to:
a) Guarantee the fulfillment of the present Law and its By-laws and
to ensure their effective application.
b) Resolve all questions related to the present Law and its By-laws,
especially in respect to authorizations, cancellations, or suspen?
sions, assuring that favorable or unfavorable resolutions be taken
on the basis of the practical activities of the Political Parties.
c) Take the measures necessary for the execution of its resolutions.
d) Draw up its By-laws and determine its own administrative
structure.
e) Call meetings of the ANPP.
f) Present its annual report to the ANPP.
g) Carry out any other functions established by the present Law
and its By-laws.
Art. 17 The President of the National Council of Political Parties will
have the following functions:
a) Preside over the National Assembly of Political Parties and the
National Council of Political Parties.
b) Convoke the National Council of Political Parties.
c) Represent legally the National Council of Political Parties and
the National Assembly of Political Parties.
d) Carry out resolutions taken by the CNPP.
e) Name the Executive Secretary of the CNPP, who will serve as
such for the ANPP also.
f) Name administrative personnel.
In the case of temporary or permanent absence of the President, his/her
functions will be carried out by the appointed substitute, and in the case
of permanent absence, the substitute will fill the position until the Govern?
ment Junta of National Reconstruction names a new President.
Art. 18 The definitive resolutions of the National Council of Political
Parties can be appealed for review or relief before the Supreme Court of
Justice; for the effects of this Law, Political Parties will have all rights,
guarantees, and protection enjoyed by natural persons in the intervention
and resolutions of the appeal for relief.
Chapter VI: Constitution of Political Parties
Art. 19 Those persons who wish to establish a Political Party must
obtain the authorization of the National Council of Political Parties in order
-Democracy in the New Nicaragua 179
to carry out the activities leading to its formation and fulfill the requirements
established by this Law to apply for legal status.
The authorization obtained from the CNPP must specify the activities
it authorizes as well as the time period of its validity, which can be no more
than ninety days.
Art. 20 Political Parties must be established by means of a Public Docu?
ment in the presence of a representative of the National Council of Political
Parties. The Public Document must contain the following:
a) Name and capacity of the issuer.
b) Name and emblem adopted by the Party.
c) Pledge to carry out its activities in accordance with the Laws
of the Nation.
d) Proof of having presented the political principles of the Party.
e) Functioning bodies of the Party and their attributions, names
of the members of its National Directorate and those of at least
nine provisional Departmental Directorates, and the Legal
Representative of the Party.
f) Method of internal election for appointing Party authorities and
determining their terms of office.
Chapter VII: Authorization of Political Parties
Art. 21 Political Parties will be authorized and will obtain their legal
status by means of resolutions of the National Council of Political Parties,
before which the interested parties must introduce applications drawn up
in accordance with the requirements established in the present Law.
Art. 22 For their authorization, Political Parties must fulfill the follow?
ing requirements:
a) Application based on the reasons that they consider proper.
b) Authenticated copy of the Public Documents of Constitution.
c) Political Program of the Party.
d) Principles and Statutes of the Party.
e) Patrimony of the Party.
f) Other requirements established in this Law and its By-laws.
Art. 23 Upon presentation of the application before the National
Council of Political Parties, the latter will verify whether it fulfills the
requirements of the Law; the National Council of Political Parties within
a period of three days will pronounce its decision, ordering the fulfilling
of the requirements lacking in the application or declaring admissible or
inadmissible such application. In the case in which the application fulfills
the requirements of the Law, the National Council of Political Parties will
publish a notice in the Gazette, the Official Newspaper, so that the Political
Parties legally constituted in the country and the Attorney General's Office,
which are parties to this procedure, will appear within a period of three
days of the publication of the notice.
Art. 24 If opposition exists to the application, the National Council
of Political Parties will open hearings for a period of fifteen (15) days for
the presentation of all charges, within a period of three days from the end
of which, the National Council of Political Parties will pronounce its deci?
sion, declaring the application accepted or not accepted.
If no opposition exists, the National Council of Political Parties will
pronounce its decision within the following five (5) days.
Art. 25 The appeal for review established in Art. 18 of the present
Law will be filed before the Supreme Court of Justice within a period of
five (5) days after notification and the appeal for relief in accordance with
the procedure established in the Law of Appeal for Relief in force. When
thirty (30) days have elapsed from the time of the notification of a favorable
resolution, and if there has been no appeal, the resolution will be published
in the Gazette, the Official Newspaper. As of that date, the applying Party
will possess legal status and the rights that Law grants to established Political
Parties.
Chapter VIII: Suspension and Cancellation

Of Political Parties
Art. 26 The suspension of a Political Party prohibits its functioning
for a specified period of time. The cancellation dissolves the Party.
Art. 27 The nonfulfillment of the obligations set out in Art. 7 of the
present Law will be grounds for suspension. Also, the Political Parties which
form part of the Council of State can be suspended for the following reasons:
a) Official withdrawal from the Council of State.
b) Causes foreseen in the first paragraph of Art. 5 of the General
Statutes of the Council of State.
Art. 28 The following are causes for cancellation:
a) Recidivism in the nonfulfillment of the obligations established
in Art. 7 of the present Law or its violation during a State of
National Emergency.
b) Participation of the Political Party in activities contrary to public
order and to the stability of the Institutions of the Government
of National Reconstruction without detriment to the resulting
penal responsibilities.
c) Self-dissolution of the Political Party or its fusion with another.
Art. 29 The suspension or cancellation of a Political Party will be
decided by the National Council of Political Parties. The procedure can
be initiated at the request of the Attorney General's Office or of any of
the Political Parties that are members of the National Assembly of Political
Parties.
Art. 30 Upon receipt of the request for suspension or cancellation
of a Political Party, the National Council of Political Parties will pronounce
-Democracy in the New Nicaragua 181
on its admissibility within a period of seven (7) days after the request is
presented; the parties which present themselves as such will be notified so
that within three days they may express whatever they consider wise.
At the end of this period, hearings will be opened for fifteen days,
within five days of the end of which the decision will be pronounced.
Art. 31 Upon the resolution of the National Council of Political Par?
ties as to suspension or cancellation of a Political Party, appeal for review
or relief can be made to the Supreme Court of Justice in conformity with
Art. 18 of the Law and the appeal will be filed in the same terms and form
as those established in Art. 25 of the present Law.
The resolution as to suspension or cancellation of a Political Party by
the CNPP will cause the immediate suspension of its functioning.
Art. 32 The resolution of cancellation of a Political Party will order
the transfer of its property to the State in the branch of Social Welfare.
Art. 33 When a Political Party has been canceled, it cannot be re?
established with the same name, emblem, or the same directorate members.
Chapter IX: General Dispositions

Art. 34 The dispositions of Common Law will be applied in all mat?
ters related to Political Parties which have not been foreseen in this Law.
Art. 35 The Council of State will establish the By-laws for the pres?
ent Law.
Chapter X: Temporary Dispositions
Art. 36 When the present Law goes into effect, legal status will
automatically be granted to those Political Parties that, at the present time,
form part of the Council of State in conformity with the Fundamental Law
and its reforms.
For purposes of record, these Political Parties will present to the National
Council of Political Parties the following documents:
a) Principles of the Party
b) Statutes of the Party
c) Political Program of the Party
d) National and Departmental Directorates
e) Patrimony of the Party
Art. 37 The political groups that have applied to the Government Junta
of National Reconstruction for membership in the Council of State at least
one year before this Law goes into effect, may continue to function as they
have been up until the present time, and must, within a period of one month
from the publication of this Law, present application to the National Council
of Political Parties in accordance with the requirements established in Article
36 of this Law.
This disposition will be valid with regard to each Political Party until
the National Council of Political Parties rules as to its authorization.
Art. 38 Within a period of ninety (90) days after the passage of the
present Law, the Council of State must discuss and pass its By-laws. This
time period can be extended by the Council of State.
Art. 39 The Government Junta of National Reconstruction and the
Political Parties legally recognized by the present Law will designate their
representatives and alternates who will form part of the National Assembly
of Political Parties immediately upon publication of the present Law in the
Gazette, the Official Newspaper, so that, on the day, hour, and place that
they decide, they will constitute themselves as the ANPP and take office
in accordance with that established in Art. 12 of the present Law.
The Council of State and the National Assembly of Political Parties
will elect their representatives to the CNPP within a period of one month
after the establishment of the National Assembly of Political Parties.
Art. 40 From the moment of the entry into effect of the present Law,
while its corresponding By-laws are being drawn up, the National Council
of Political Parties is authorized to implement the present Law, resolving
those matters which present themselves in accordance with the Law, with
General Legal Principles, and with the rules of good judgment.
Chapter XI: Entry Into Effect of the Law
Art. 41 The present Law will go into effect upon its publication in
the Gazette, the Official Newspaper.
GIVEN IN THE CHAMBER OF SESSIONS OF THE COUNCIL OF
STATE ON THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH OF
AUGUST OF THE YEAR NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY
THREE, YEAR OF STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND SOVEREIGNTY.
Commander of the Revolution
Carlos Nunez Tellez
President of the Council of State
Sub-Commander
Rafael Solis Cerda
Secretary of the Council of State

Law of Political Parties

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Law of Political Parties

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Law of Political Parties

Author(s): Carlos Nez Tellez and Rafael Sols Cerda

The Council of State of the Republic of Nicaragua, Meeting in

Chapter III: On the Principles and Goals of Political Parties

Chapter IV: Rights and Obligations of Political Parties

Chapter V: On the National Assembly and

Art 9 The National Assembly of Political Parties and the National

Chapter VIII: Suspension and Cancellation

Chapter IX: General Dispositions

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